Hello,

now I join the third Club - today I bought my Terminator 2 Pinball Machine in meanwhile rare original condition with a good diamond plate playfield.
Tomorrow I will check all functions and later next week I will disassemble the Pinball Machine complete.
I want to restore the Terminator from the scratch.
Actually I'm not sure if I restore Standard or custom made Chrome Edition.
Of course this Pin will be equipped with Color-DMD (LCD), PinSound-Board, Shaker, Hunter Killership, etc.

regards
Averell

Actually I'm testing the PinSound-Board.
In INDY I use a selfmade Shaker fired on the extension port A via 12 Volt relay supported by PinSound-Board (5 Volt).
For the T2 I plan the same and I want to switch on and off LED Lightstripes (12 Volt) via extension port B supported by PinSound-Board (5 Volt).
Unfortunately INDY is out of order and a wait for spare, but I keep you informed if it works or not.
The advance is, once you wired the LED in the cabinet or elsewhere you can turn on and off via PinSound-Board on each soundeffect you like.
Of course the Shaker is the same and already works very well.

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And here he is, my own Terminator.

Some parts dismantled for transport... everything is functional and complete.
Really rare to find in this good and original condition - I'm very happy.

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Two weeks ago Repro Refurbs announced to produce the complete plastics for Terminator 2 until end of November.
Actually no more response to any questions... unforunately depending due to licence problems?

Pinball-Dreams is founder of the Chrome-Edition but you can try to contact the hungarian guy.
First I thought about Chrome-Edition but now I prefer standard view because it's too much Blingbling and the colors won't match at all to the original Translite.
The custom made Translite is incomplete and so I think less is more.
Besides I don't like coindoors or Apron with lame sheet metal on it and loads of Symbols everywhere.

Very nice...

Chrome Edition is from Pinball Dreams Germany.

You will not find the decals on the webside.
You have to contact Henrik by email: [email protected]
Ask him for Chrome Edition Terminator Decals.

I prefer LCD and I use the same in my Indy - excellent!

Still busy at my Terminator Backbox and Cabinet.

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All these Plastics have missing numbers - they're all clear.
I've ordered some of the last licenced Plastics in stock from Australia.
But next year it's possible to buy new licensed sets of Plastics from BUT in Germany.

You have to write an Email directly to Henrik and ask for the decals.
They don't offer them on their website... seems to be limited.

Is this a BUT reproduction playfield from Germany?
I'm sorry, it's really a mess.
But I can't suggest that because their playfield are produced under very high quality standards and will be inspected particular before delivery.
To date no issues like that known here in Germany.

I think all the playfields have to be send back to BUT.

Apron could be refurbished this way.

First stain off all old coating, next sand or glas blasting and at last powder coating and new decals.
Here's an example of T2, F-14 and Indy, at the end the same Job.

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Still busy with my cabinet... a lot of work but worse at all.

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Long awaited parts...

• Color-DMD in LCD
• Ribbon cables
• Illuminated Scorecards

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... ans still busy on cabinet.

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I also use Color-DMD in LCD in my Indy and it's amazing.
My choice is LCD because you have much more options to adjust to an original look very similar to the factory DMD.

Cabinet is still in progress... I want to have it better as NIB.

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Sanding.... again and again...

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Of course unvisible holes from coindoor retainer inside.

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Today the parts for powder coating were finished.
All these parts look better as new now.

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Powder coating does a special workshop near by my employer... they have three big ovens to handle parts with lenghts approx. 6 meters.
Legs are in delivery... new WPC legs in polished chrome.

Wednesday my Cabinet will be ready for decals.
Some more coating layers and it's done.

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Cab is looking good again, just a few spots on the bottom to sand and then I can start to reassemble.
Can't stand to see the decals on it.

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Surface is still not that good as I want it - so I decided to primer once again.
Tomorrow sanding and then I swap to the other side.

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Cabinet madness...

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OK, I understand... I will reduce pictures of restoration progress.
But I don't want to start a new thread, I already have a specific thread in the German Pinball-Forum... too much to keep both.

Yes, I'm granted.

It's unofficial and custom made GAME ROM Version 8.1 - if needed send me an E-Mail.

8.1 is unofficial version with deactivated attract "Boom Boom".
8.2 is unofficial version with shorten introduction for quick tournament game play.

I also prefer the original Apron (powder coated) with illuminated Scorecards.

That's it - very well done.
I will use the same Scorecards but illuminated - best combination.
And all the decals besides the original are crap - the "Chrome Edition" as well.
Uuhhh, and I hate these pink rubbers... Alex that's looking gay!

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There's very much potential for customizing T2, but if you overshoot the mark... it looks silly at the end.

Huhuuu.... here's my new stuff... loads of decals and custom made parts.
Also new galvanized parts for Cabinet and Backbox.

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They are selfmade... send me your e-mail.

It's just a decal... someone has scanned and recreated in with Illustrator oder Corel Draw?!

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If you need the file I can send it... just send me ypur E-Mail address.

Last but not least... new Translite in original version.

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Actually I can't check... T2 is completely disassembled.
But I did some tests with my little torch light - and it's very nice.
Later complete T2 will get LED with some special effects behind the Translite.

Hell no,
I don't want to change anything on my Indy... and actually my game room is a mess.

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My new old Apron... only smart customizing...

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Apron decals came from a local pinhead in Hamburg.

Send me an email.

I remember no restoring here, but I'm very happy to show my progress.

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Still busy on my T2 project, but no hurry.

The Cab is done except of wiring.

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Cyberdine Logo on the speaker grills... I create a stencil to brush it step by step.

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This bad guy will replace the plastic skull on the playfield later.
Some work to do but at the end it will look much more better as the plastic crap.

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Ground wiring is always and again a little challenge.

Not finished yet because I need more needles to tack.

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No its not the original Skull.
This one is made of massive artificial stone and a 1 copy of the T-800 model.
Later I will mill the skull and place it at the same spot with some changes at it's evil eyes.

It works...

here custom and original (or bad repro)

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It's worth all the work!

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Still fighting the Terminator... preparing for PindSound upgrade and LED stripes in the panel.

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Of course, I know that these grills should represent the eyes, but I like it and if lights are on, the Logo is not visible or disturbing.

Very busy today... still loads of parts missing, but backbox wiring is nearly done (cabinet only)
Have to connect 12 Volt power supply to the PinSound-Board and the wiring for speakerpanel and center.

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Today I did a lot of work...

Line filter modification with NTC and separate wiring for external power supply.

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Speakerpanel is finished, equipped with Visaton speakers, LED-Stripe, Color-DMD... and Cyberdine Logo.

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Rolling on Chrome again...

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Gun and Coindoor back in place.

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Worked a lot today and displaced all the Pins in a row, now it's a consenting picture.

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Some cable porn to do and then there's the next big step in sight.

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Cable porn is done.

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• Power supply is working and provides 12 Volts
• Shaker is ready
• LED-Stripes can be switched via Relay now
• Wiring for illuminated scorecards is prepared

Also PinSound-Board and Color-DMD is updated and currently running.
All three Coin Controller are working.

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Today I modified the Game ROM and installed LED-Ghostpatch and recalculate the checksum.
I did some customizing and I corrected some bad wording.
To identify I use my initials to the revision.

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What's the problem?
Should I give a lesson on how to program an old ROM... this is very very tricky and not that easy!
If you don't know what your are doing you can damage the game.
There are loads of ROM files outside without corrected content or bad checksum errors... and selftesting routine doesn't work anymore!
If someone want to have information he can write me an email.
I also have written a manual how to do this work... but only availabe in German language.
And of course there's special software needed... I have the permission from these guys to use their programs and ideas and it was a lot of work to get all these programs and to write down all that know-how.
I spend hours and days to understand so now I'm in... if someone want to have Information he will get it, but I can't give any advice and I don't go in charge for anything!

You are a very smart man, and I know that you will do better next time.
Nevertheless, you only want to provoke.

This custom message is only for you my friend.

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What exactly do you want "your" GAME ROM to do?
Ghost Patch is easy to do and changes only some bytes in the data of the lamp driver and the tool automatically corrects the checksum.
There are some tools outside to work with, I think latetest version is 1.4?
Custom made things are different and change the measurement in the file and you will get a checksum error while booting the system.
Thus, important selftesting routines are out of function and you have the risk to damage assemblies (coils) in the game.
You need a HEX-Editor and some basics in ASCII and Binary Coding.
And there are more abilities to correct the checksum at the end... hard by calculating or using a software.
The first solution unfortunately is not safe and can cause the same problem with deactivated selftesting.
A main problem is the narrow space of custom text in the given coding - you can't write in what ever you want.
For instance, you get in trouble if you erase only one stop bit in the coding... possible effect... introduction text bad or missing or Pinball is frozen while booting, etc.
Much more problems you will have if you change the GAME ROM... all settings will be lost... not that bad, but it's annoying because that happend again and again until all the customizing is done.
And you need some hardware... EPROM Writer with software to burn in the data and an UV-Eraser to delete the data.

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I see,
but you can't change to a custom ROM Version without hacking in the Game ROM, because the tool only offers standard entries like L or P.
You have to know the address, where you have to write in the initials you want.

So the address where to type in AV (or something else) instead of L- or P- is 6C70E and 70DBF

In fact, after you recalculate the checksum, the tool will show you L- or P- again, but the ROM is ok.
And I use another tool to recalculate after doing the ghost patch and it works.

For instance, this is an extract of my modification on Indy L-7 Game ROM:

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And here some changes in the Terminator L-8 Game ROM

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In other countries it's more difficult to play a Pinball Machine and understand the content of the missions or just the written words in the descriptions.
In my case my tendency is to correct the bad wording in German, but you have also really bad wording in French.
The example in Indy is an old funny fault, because they have written "Rescue the Arc"... but it should noun "Rescue the Ark".
In German language it's worth and somehow without sense... "Rette die Arche"... translated does that mean "Rescue Noah's Ark".
But in the original text there're often mistakes and English is the superior language if you use Color-DMD and stuff like that, because German Game ROM doesn't work properly and during gameplay you will get malfunctional Displays or mismatched wording and graphics.
There are loads of codes and addresses being modified and the procedure is expandable.

Actually I have no information about any misspelling or senseless wording in the English Game ROM.
But I will search for... there are hundreds of thousand entries, and most of them are not directly visible and hidden between tags and marks.

Another problem are all these funny abbreviations in the menu, impossible to fix because there's no more space for a correct wording.

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And here again, another wrong word... Time in German "Zeit" with confound letters "Ziet" - no sense.

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And here's the ticker content, that is displayed in attract mode. Could be changed very easy.

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This is the part with the complete introduction.

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And here are all the burned in highscore initials...

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I'm confused... are there more than one L-8 ROMs in circulation?
I think it's only a question of adjustment in the menu, for what Country the Pinball should be used?
What's the different to the profanity ROM, or does ist mean Prototype... maybe for early machines?
I'm not sure if there's a special Game ROM for the domestic market only, but I remember different CPU between Indy and T2... both WPC-System, but for Indy you have to adjust the regional code by jumper... the T2 CPU has no Jumpers at all... adjustment in the menu mode only.
Or is there another spelling regarding violence that has or must be removed later?
I need an example that shows a difference between latest L-8 and of what you are talking about.
It should be possible to change the content and send you the file... then you only need someone who can burn the chip.

Yesterday I corrected some more issues in the L-8 ROM and I compared to the Indy L-7 ROM - exactly the same wording mistakes, but especially in German language.

Ah ok,
good Information - I will research and report.
Should be possible to combine early version with latest revision.
I'm very interessted... I remeber that I found that spelling in the code... it's for the tilt procedure and appears on the screen.
But it would be nicer to hear Arnie talking like that.

I have the Information that the Profanity ROM is based on older Content and you have to resign of many features they have been released in the later L-8.
I use a PinSound-Board with a special reorchestration from Endprodukt and that's much more harder and violently as the Profanity ROM, and with a better sound of course.

It's worth it and you can swap it to other Pinball Machines... I use two of them and it's another world of sound and music... believe me.

I have to wait for new galvanized cabinet parts (tilt) and start to disassamble the playfield this weekend.

Here are some new parts that are ready... bronze bearings and adjustable Flipperfingers milled in aluminium.
Depending on my experience with the lame Williams clamps I use the more stable STERN clamps in the Flipper assemblies.
I use them in my very fast F-14 and Indy without any problems (third picture)
On the second picture left in the top corner you see new illuminated Cyberdyne signs for the ramps. These ramps will indicate alternately which ramp to shoot by LED (green and red). The new brackets are made of aluminium but I will improve them and later they will be done in stainless steel.
I also use the Flipper Buttons in aluminium again in combination nature and red.

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It's an example for my combination of STERN clamps in WPC-Assemblies, and the picture shows Indy, not T2.
I'm sorry for that confusion.

Today I started to disassamble the playfield... man, it's a mess and a lot of work to fix it.

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When chaos strikes back... the total destruction.

Sanding the playfield all day Long.
Next week first clear coating for corrections and then first maintenance at the typical spots.

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First I want to fill all the splits between the inserts and then sanding again until the splits are filled up and the surface is smooth.
Then I use 2-K Clearcoating to have a layer to do the corrections and repair on, then sanding again until it's smooth... that procedure will repeat again and again. Don't worry, at the end the Playfield will be fine again.

First clear coating, sanding again and first repairs...

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This is the most fired spot such as the holes of course.
My advice is to repair that spot with fibreglass filler and protect with mylar later.

It is RAL 3000 and I did it some weeks ago - matches perfect.

Ah Mikonos... well well - last week banned in the German Pinball Community Flippermarkt and know he's doing the same here on Pinside.

Because he always offers what he can do for free, but in fact nobody there got anything from him. He never shared anything for free and bothered the community with his penetrated behaviour.

Man, I'm out of here... don't waste my time with that Mikonos bullshit anymore.

Take a look...

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These scorecards are the best for T2 pinball machine.
Matching 110 % to the movie and spirit of that time... no that clumsy bullshit from mikonos.

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I have printed them out on a material that's similar to mylar and I will illuminate the scorecards same like I did at my Indy and F-14.

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Yes it is... and i have installed only this one flipper... with four it's too easy.

I use an extern 110v inverter with EL foil. Can be switched on or off and placed under the apron.

Peter told me, that the new plastics will be available soon.
Actually they have to arrange the negatives for printing.

The decals from Peter (BUT) are perfect and the only licensed ones in the market right now.
They have that orange that almost will be discussed if reproduction or next gen, etc. are compared against them.

For me these decals were out of question because too much expensive.
And I don't care about the color at the cabinet, ok if it's all rather red then orange... who cares?
Only one kink or scratch and it's the same mess at all.
Plastics that makes a difference in quality, but cabint decals... next gen are not that bad... this orange is unable to print in inkjet or laser.
Of course that's the reason why silk-screen printed decals are expensive... but worth at all?

In Germany you have to pay ~300 Euro for licenced decals, next gen are affordable for 125-140 Euro.
And the substrate is always the same and not worse or better.

I agree to the work, it's the same and the more expensive decal doesn't paste easier or quicker on the cabinet.
Maybe in a couple of years the UV-light will procure convincing facts wether the licensed decals were worth the money or not?

Unfortunately not... http://www.buthamburg.de/

But there's no Information about T2 plastics and T2 playfields are out of stock anyway.

Here we can see the difference between NextGen and the BUT showed two posts earlier.
In my opinion the NG are not so bad, but there are some small odds in details, not really that flashy, but if you take a closer look you will see.

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Sure, if you still want to change the decals and insist on the original, why not?
I just balanced between price and details ... and added value at the end, but I would not pay that price.
If finished, that Terminator will be a beauty again, and even better as it was - with or without licenced decals.

That's the same point of view for me. I restore these games only for me and keep them in my small collection.
Nearly perfect but not at all costs.
I spent a lot of money and experience in my F-14, later Indy was my masterpiece and this T2 is something between.

Where's that stupid Mikonos Clown?

All the brackets, flaps and ramps... galvanized in zinc and chrome.

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Approx. 300 Euros, but included are the other parts from the BB and Cabinet.
The condition of these parts was really bad, partly rusty and dirty.
Now it's better then new.

Today Peter from BUT Germany told me, that the new plastics for Terminator 2 have nearly a final status.
He gave some very interesting information about the silkscreen printing and that it was a very tough job to rearrange all the details, especially the faces and colors. They work diligently on the graphics... all the films had to be redrawn.
So he promised that the new batch of plastic will have another level of quality.

Translite made by a member of the German pinball community.
Really good reproduction but of course not an original.

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Today I welded the last two brackets of the ball trough and next week they will be galvanized. The brackets were badly damaged and compressed in the area where the balls hit again and again. And my own service stickers are done too.

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Call Peter at BUT Germany, I think they will release a new batch of playfields if they have enough advanced orders.

Hope this helps... in my opinion its 45°.

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Look at my picture and you see there's a rounded corner and it's original 45°.

For instance F-14 and Indy has 90°.

Still working on the playfiled, again sanding and airbrushing - step by step.

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No plastics, no feedback - still waiting for the new run.